Li ION battery Problems?

[JohnAB]

I have the DC9310 7.2-18 V charger that came with my DC9181 Type 1 18V Li Ion Compact battery packs.  They are less than two years old and do not have very many cycles on them.  I used them recently and both batteries had a very short run time (<1 minute).  I put them in the recharger and got the blinking light indicating charging.  It eventually turned on continuous indicating Charged.  I put the battery in the drill and it ran at high speed less than 5 seconds and stopped.  I recharged again and this time the drill did not work at all.  Voltmeter on the battery indicates nothing.

I have tried several cycles on the charge and overnight and still no charge.  The indicator light says it is charging and then is charged.  I have 2 batteries and the same thing happens with both.

How do I know if the recharger is not really charging event though the lights work?  I'd certainly hope the Li Ion batteries would last longer than 2 years.  The drill does work fine with NiMH battery pack.

Thanks for the help.

John

[kjones]

If they are less than 2 years old, take them to your nearest service center.  They can check your batteries and charger, figure out which is faulty, and then if it is the batteries, replace them for free.

[JohnAB]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I live a long drive from the service center.  Is there something I can test to differentiate the charger vs battery being the problem?

John

[kjones]

I think that you mentioned that you tried other batteries in your tool and it worked, so if that is the case, try those batteries in your charger (from dead to full).  If it works, it's a pretty good bet that your batteries are bad. 

FYI, you can always ship to your closest service center, or call them and see if any distributors have drop box service near you.

[JohnAB]

Thanks will try the first.

John